S&S Dialogues are informal opportunities to gather over lunch and discuss current events, cutting-edge research, and works in progress at the intersection of science and society. Each month, we bring together two experts in STEM and the humanities to discuss a common topic. Our guests will present information and lead a discussion about the implications of the chosen topic for society, bioethics, and policy. For faculty, the group serves as a time for exploring current issues and for freely sharing opinions in a collaborative setting; for students and young professionals, the group serves as a venue for learning more about the intersection of law, ethics, and policy. Interested individuals at all levels of career and training are welcome to attend. Held monthly on Thursdays from noon – 1 p.m.

Upcoming Dialogues

Reining in the Opioid Crisis While Treating Those in Pain

Thursday, March 29th, 2018, noon – 1 p.m.

Past Dialogues

While we may retain romantic images of agriculture as a low-tech industry stuck in the past, small and large farms alike are now using drones, satellite imagery, detailed maps, and even machine learning to maximize agricultural output while minimizing resource use. In this S&S Dialogues event, two agriculture insiders will dive into the field of precision agriculture, explain how technology has already modernized farming and what changes will occur in the future.

Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work
Thursday, January 25th, 2018, noon – 1 p.m.

Predictions about the impacts of artificial intelligence in the workplace range from improving productivity to the complete annihilation of industries, with recent reports warning that hundreds of millions of jobs could be lost to automation within 15 years. In this S&S Dialogues event, two AI experts, Vince Conitzer and Frank Levy, will discuss the myths and realities of emerging AI technologies, including what’s here, what’s coming, and what needs to be done to minimize the threats and maximize the benefits.

Panelists

Vincent Conitzer is the Kimberly J. Jenkins University Professor of New Technologies and Professor of Computer Science, Professor of Economics, and Professor of Philosophy at Duke University. Most of his research is on artificial intelligence (especially multiagent systems) and economic theory (especially game theory, social choice, and mechanism design).

Frank Levy is Daniel Rose Professor Emeritus at MIT and a Senior Rsearch Associate in the Department of Health Care Policy of Harvard Medical School. Since the late 1990’s, Levy has studied the impact of computerized work and offshoring on U.S. occupations, skill demands, and income.

Scientists are using a new method to grow mini-brains from human cells. These “brain organoids” – pea-sized three-dimensional brain proxies grown in petri dishes – could fundamentally change basic brain research, disease modeling, and personalized medicine. But brain organoids have broad ethical and legal implications as well. Are there emergent properties of the human brain — like consciousness, or memories — that organoids may have? What kind of research is ethical on brain organoids? What are the implications for concepts like brain death in law and medicine?

Panelists

Albert Keung is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. His group is interested in the complex gene regulatory behaviors that are encoded by the epigenome and chromatin systems.

Nita Farahany is the director of Duke Science & Society, the Duke MA in Bioethics & Science Policy, and Professor of Law & Philosophy. She is a leading scholar on the ethical, legal, and social implications of biosciences and emerging technologies, particularly those related to neuroscience and behavioral genetics. In 2010, she was appointed by President Obama to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, and served until 2017.

Beyond Bitcoin – Balancing the Good and Bad in the Blockchain
Tuesday, September 26, 2017 12PM to 1PM

Blockchain – a decentralized, secure, and publicly verifiable system for enabling “trustless” transactions – has broad implications for how we transact over electronic networks. From cryptocurrencies to precision medicine, data privacy to diamond trading, your life is bound for the blockchain.

We kick off the 2017-2018 S&S Dialogue series with blockchain experts from the Duke Law School and the Department of Computer Science as we explore this burgeoning tech and its current and future impact on our world.

Bruce MacDowell Maggs, PhD is the Pelham Wilder Professor of Computer Science at Duke University and Vice President and researcher of Akamai Technologies. His research focuses on distributed systems, including content delivery networks, computer networks, and computer and network security.

Jeff Ward, JD is Director of the Duke Center on Law & Technology. He aims not only to help lawyers thrive in tech-driven legal practice but also to facilitate Duke’s leadership at the intersection of law and technology. Jeff and his students explore the technologies that are here, the emerging technologies that are near, and the frontier technologies that make us say “Oh, my dear!”

The Internet of Things: An Unprecedented Window Into Your Life and Behavior
Thursday, January 19, 2017

With an estimated 50 billion interconnected devices pouring data into the ether, should we expect a global economic and social bonanza or a giant step toward the loss of individual privacy?

This political season proved that technology as established as e-mail is highly vulnerable. How can we assure that the IoT explosion of data remains secure?

SAS Systems Architect Michael Thomas will present the terrain of IoT and demonstrate the power of combining IoT with immersive analytics techniques with augmented and virtual reality.

David Hoffman, Intel’s Associate General Counsel and Global Privacy Officer and member of Duke law faculty, will discuss how laws and public policy must adjust to “things” becoming part of the internet.

Driverless Cars – Are We Ready to Hand Over the Wheel?
Thursday, October 20, 2016

Driverless cars could save lives by replacing distracted, impaired, and otherwise imperfect human drivers with machines at the wheel. Recently, the Obama administration has promised strong safety oversight and has given the green light to automakers eager to roll out this new technology. Are we ready to let robots do the driving? How should lawmakers at the local, state, and national level set policy to determine liability, thwart harmful use, and protect consumer privacy?

Dr. Michael Clamann, senior research scientist at the Duke Humans and Autonomy Lab at the Pratt School of Engineering, and Dr. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Professor of Practical Ethics in the Duke Department of Philosophy and the Kenan Institute for Ethics, will lead us through a discussion of the key technological and ethical issues posed by driverless vehicles.

For 30 million users Pokemon Go may have been their first hands-on experience with augmented (AR). Mobile tech has made it easier than ever to explore virtual environments for entertainment, but the Pokemon Go craze hints at far greater applications that will change the way we live. From art installations to anthropology, neuroscience to cyber-stalking, AR empowers us in ways previously impossible.

What makes the technology different today and what barriers still exist?

How is AR driving advances in health, research, and education?

What are some immediate concerns over the widespread use of AR in our daily lives?